


Faithfully

by puffnstuff08



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Gen, Humor, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puffnstuff08/pseuds/puffnstuff08
Summary: Neilson Carter is still reeling from his break up with his first real girlfriend. He happens upon something that might shatter his already broken heart even more. The Sequel to: "The Hardest Park of Breaking Up"





	1. Chapter 1

__

_In the night, I hear them talk the coldest story ever told_  
Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul  
To a woman so heartless  
How could you be so heartless  
Oh, how could you be so heartless? 

Neilson pulled into Natalie's driveway and got out of Kyle's jeep, pressing the lock button on the key ring. The headlights flashed as he made his way to the front porch he saw Bradley's car parked in front of him and bounded up the steps.

He rang the doorbell and stood there for a few seconds "Hello!" he yelled, reaching his fist out to knock on the door when it creaked open. He cautiously made his way inside, looking around behind him. "Hello?!" he asked again "Anyone here?" he asked, he stepped further into the foyer, he looked down to see Natalie's jacket discarded on the floor. 

He picked up the other jacket and fished into the pocket finding Bradley's phone, missed call notifications lingering on the screen. His stomach dropped when he heard a noise from upstairs and started towards the staircase, he could see the dim light spilling out into the hallway. The staircase seemed to get longer as Neilson ascended, he spotted Natalie's bedroom door partially open. 

He crept up to the open door quietly, peeking into the room seeing two bodies tangled up together in her bed. Clothes were thrown all over the floor, He heard Natalie moaning Bradley's name and Bradley's slight grunts and groans. He could feel his heart drop and the wind go out of him as he looked at the scene in front of him, a cold empty feeling began to consume him. The bed frame began to squeak, becoming louder and faster they both cried out in release. 

He heard them gasping for air as they both came down from the overpowering feeling of euphoria that consumed them. Bradley let out a low groan, collapsing in exhaustion next to Natalie his chest rose and fell as he tried to regain his breath. 

"Wow" Natalie said in surprise, still gasping for air. 

"Yeah" Bradley said panting. 

A knot formed in Neilson's stomach and his emotions were on the verge of collapsing, tears filled the brim of his eyes. Suddenly the sadness and disbelief turned into rage he flung the door open, startling Bradley and Natalie "Having fun?" he asked angrily.

"What the hell..." Bradley said scrambling to get dressed as fast as he could. 

"Neilson" Natalie said surprised "This isn't what it looks like, okay, we can explain.” 

"What's to explain? from where I'm standing it looks pretty clear" he said "Guess now I know why you wanted to break up" he said as he stormed out of the room. 

"Neilson, wait" Bradley said running after Neilson "Neilson, stop, come on" he said as Neilson flung the front door open and left "No! Neilson wait!" he yelled as Neilson pulled out of the driveway, tires squealing as he took off at top speed. 

He began driving feeling flushed and weak, he finally broke down suddenly pulling off to the side road, tears began streaming down his face, he pounded the steering wheel angrily before slumping over the wheel and sobbing violently. 

"I got to go find him" Bradley said tying his shoe. 

"Where do you think he went?" Natalie asked him as she put her clothes back on. 

"I don't know but I have to try" he said racing back downstairs.

"I'm coming with you" she said.

"No you're not" Bradley said to her "In case you haven't noticed we're in a lot of trouble, just stay here" Bradley said picking his jacket up from the floor and flinging the front door open. 

She saw him peel out of her driveway and take off at top speed down the street. She looked around in a haze, she then grabbed her keys from her jacket pocket and ran to the garage. 

Bradley's headlights shone through the dark night, his foot steadily on the gas pedal as he kept a look out. "Damn it!" he said angrily, finally he spotted Kyle's jeep sitting outside the entrance to the park, he quickly pulled over, stopping the car and turning the ignition off. 

He pushed open the heavy iron gate, walking along the path, lit by streetlights. He heard the squeaking of the swings and found Neilson sitting on one, his cheeks red and blotchy, taking a large gulp from a small bottle.  
Bradley closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to brace himself for the verbal assault he knew was coming his way. 

"Neilson" he said approaching the swing, Neilson looked up at him with watery red eyes, his face stained with tears. 

"Wow...you finish quick" he said taking another drink from the bottle in his hand "Oh wait, did I kill the mood? Oh, sorry about that" he said taking another large gulp and grimacing at the taste. 

Bradley knelt to his level, holding on to the swing's chain "Neilson, just let me explain, just hear me out alright, please..." Bradley said to him. 

“Are you kidding me?!" Neilson asked getting up from the swing. 

"I didn't mean for this to happen okay I swear!" Bradley said to him.

"Oh, don't give me that!" Neilson said to him "You knew full well what you were doing...what was this your way of getting back at me for what I said to you earlier?" he asked. 

"What? No! Of course not!" Bradley said. 

"Oh my god" Neilson said chuckling "I was actually coming to apologize to you" he said. "You weren't picking up your cellphone and you didn't answer my texts so I decided to go find you myself, Kyle told me you went to Charlie's and when I got there Charlie told me that you had gotten into a screaming match with Nat and you both left...what I don't understand however is..." Neilson said laughing. "How does fighting in the parking lot turn into you banging my girlfriend...no wait, excuse me, ex-girlfriend”. "I know I hurt your feelings earlier tonight but did you really have to take it _this_ far?" Neilson asked. 

"I didn’t do this to get back at you! It was a mistake, okay? A huge mistake and it will never happen again okay I promise you that” Bradley said to him. 

“Oh great, wow, it won't happen again huh? Good to know” Neilson said to him "You know this is so typical of you, Bradley J. has to be the center of attention, always, and you aren't satisfied until everyone else in the room is in love with you." 

“That's not true!” Bradley said. 

“Yes, it is! It’s who you are” Neilson said to him.

“How can you say that? You know me better than anyone” Bradley asked. 

“Yeah, I thought I did, if there was one person I trusted most in this world, the one person I trusted with my life it was you, how could you? How could you do this to me?!" Neilson yelled at him. 

Bradley winced as Neilson yelled at him and looked at him with sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry" Bradley said softly. 

"No, the only thing that you're sorry about is that you got caught" Neilson said to him angrily. 

"Neilson!" they heard Natalie yell as she jogged towards them "What are you doing?" she asked seeing the bottle in his hand. 

"What? I'm celebrating, here's to you guys, now that I'm out of the way, you guys can finally screw each other's brains out, cheers!" he said raising the bottle and taking another drink. 

"Neilson, I promise you, we didn't mean for this to happen, I know that doesn't mean much coming from me but it's true!" she said to him. "Bradley and I got into an argument at Charlie's and then the next thing I know we're making out in the parking lot...it just...something happened..." 

"Yeah something happened! You were banging my best friend!" he yelled at her. 

"God Neilson please you have to believe us, we didn't want to hurt you” she said to him sadly. 

“Oh you didn't? Well good job, really” he said taking another drink “How could you?” he asked her. 

“I'm so sorry okay? I'm sorry” she cried. 

"Why him?" he asked sadly "It could've been any other guy, even if I walked in on you and some stranger THAT would've been less painful" he said. "But no... you had to pick the one person...you know how much he means to me, you know that!" Neilson yelled at her.

"I know, I know" she said tearfully. 

"But why Bradley J. why him?!" he asked her angrily. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" she sobbed. 

Tears were streaming down his face, Natalie wiped tears away from her face. 

"Know what? I don't want to have anything to do with either of you" Neilson said "Ever again...to hell with you both" he said walking away. 

Neilson sat alone in the dark in his room, a picture frame in his hands, tears still trickling down his cheeks. He looked down at the picture of him with Bradley and Natalie, he then pitched it across the room watching it hit the wall and slide down to the floor, shards of broken glass landing on the carpet. 

The feeling of betrayal and heartbreak was still flooding his soul as he began to break down in sobs once again.

__

_Oh, how could you be so heartless?_


	2. Chapter 2

Bradley slept slumped against a door frame, his body extended into the hallway. 

Kyle stood in front of the stove, a pan of bacon sizzling in front of him. 

"Bacon, I smell bacon, there better be bacon" Adam said coming down the kitchen stairs. 

Kyle pulled the strands of bacon from the hot pan and set it on a plate. 

"Ah sweet bacon" Adam said picking up a piece and tossing it into his mouth. 

"It's burning the inside of your mouth, isn't it?" Kyle asked. 

"Worth it" Adam said as his eyes watered. 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" Harry exclaimed as he bounded down the kitchen stairs. "You guys are _NEVER_ going to believe what happened last night" he said. 

Adam gasped "Did someone get dumped on The Hills?!" he asked, rolling his eyes and feasting on another piece of bacon.

"No... because it ended like _last year_!" Harry said to him "This guy huh?" he said to Kyle. 

"What's going on Harry?" Kyle asked 

"Bradley slept with Nat!" he said. 

"What?!" Kyle and Adam both asked, Adam began to choke on the bacon in his mouth "Oh for god's sake" Kyle said standing behind Adam using the Heimlich maneuver on him, suddenly he coughed it up and it came flying out of his mouth, Harry looked on disgusted. 

"Still worth it" Adam said, he then bent down and picked the bacon off the floor and shoved it back into his mouth. 

Kyle and Harry stared at him in equal parts of horror and disgust.

"What? It's still bacon" Adam said to them. 

"What happened exactly?" Kyle said still looking at Adam in disbelief. 

"Well I'm not a hundred percent on all the details but remember last night when Neilson went looking for Bradley at Charlie's?" Harry asked. 

"Yeah...oh my god they hooked up at the bar?" Kyle asked Harry nodded. 

"From what I hear is, Bradley went to Charlie's last night and found Natalie flirting with some old guy" Harry said to them.

"No!" Adam gasped. 

"She just broke up with Neilson and she's hitting on guys in a dive bar?" Kyle asked. 

"Anyways, Bradley chased the guy, they get into this huge screaming match and somehow they end up making out in the parking lot" Harry said to them "Next thing you know they're back at Nat's house hitting the sheets together" Harry said. 

"I cannot believe this!" Adam said shocked. 

"That's not the worst part" Harry said. 

"It gets worst?" Kyle asked. 

"Neilson walked in on them" Harry said, they groaned. 

"Oh no" Kyle said. 

"Yep, he saw the whole thing" Harry said. 

"Oh man" Adam said. 

"God poor Neilson" Kyle said sadly. 

"Anyways Bradley chased him down to the park, they had this huge blow out, Natalie followed him there and Neilson wrote them both off" Harry said. 

They heard footsteps on the stairs "Shh!" Harry said as they dodged towards the kitchen table and quickly sat down. 

They became silent when Bradley appeared.  
They said there awkwardly, Bradley looked at them curiously. 

"What's with you?" he asked them.

"Nothing" 

"Nothing" 

"Nothing" they all replied quickly. 

"Just sitting here, talking about nothing" Harry said to him. 

"Having breakfast" Adam said. 

Bradley looked down at the table noticing the lack of food in front of them "Yeah I hear invisible food is the real breakfast of champions" Bradley said sitting at the table with a mug of coffee. “If you guys are going to gossip don't you think you should be under some giant hairdryers?" he asked. 

"What?! No!" Harry said. 

"Pfft..." Adam said sputtering. 

"Wow you guys are _horrible_ liars...especially you Adam, which really disappoints me" Bradley said to them. "I know you guys know what happened and I don't want to hear it alright" Bradley said. 

"You okay?" Kyle asked. 

"Oh yeah, I'm great, I screwed my best friend's girlfriend and now he hates me" Bradley said to him. 

"Ex-girlfriend..." Harry said correcting him, they all turned to glare at him. 

"But that's not important" he said nervously. 

"What happened?" Kyle asked. 

"I don't know! One minute we were screaming at each other and then...I was so angry but at the same time I wanted her and we were kissing and it just felt...unreal" Bradley said to them. "Like this overpowering feeling, I couldn't think of anything else." 

"I guess not, all the blood in your body was headed south" Adam said to him. 

"What happened with Neilson?" Kyle asked. 

"He came to Nat's house I guess to find me and well he did just not where he thought he would" Bradley said.   
"I didn't even know he was there until the door flew open and he was standing there, I found him later in the park" Bradley said taking a drink of coffee. "He started screaming at me then Nat showed up and then he started screaming at her and then he took off" Bradley said "I fell asleep outside his door hoping he'd come out but he never did" he said sadly. 

"So, how was it?" Adam asked breaking the silence. 

"Adam" Kyle said irritated. 

"You get the whole package?" Adam asked. 

"...I don't even know what that means" Bradley said irritated. 

"Well you know if she..." Adam said.

"Alright!" Kyle said "What is wrong with you?" he asked. 

"What? I can't ask questions?" Adam asked. 

"What are you going to do about Neilson?" Kyle asked. 

"I don't know, he said he doesn't want anything to do with me, he won't listen to me, he won't talk to me, what am I supposed to do?" Bradley asked. 

The stairs creaked as Neilson came down, he stopped in his tracks, meeting Bradley's eyes. 

"Hey" Bradley said, he shot him an icy glare. 

"What's with you?" he asked Kyle, Harry and Adam who stayed silent, their eyes darting between them. 

"Nothing" 

"Nothing" 

"Nothing" they all said to him. 

"So much tension" Adam said "Not enough bacon" he said taking another piece from the plate, Kyle turned to look at him and shook his head. 

He tapped Bradley's arm "Go" he said nodding his head towards Neilson, Bradley looked at him hesitantly. "Talk to him" Kyle said quietly as Neilson opened the refrigerator. 

Bradley stood up from the table and slowly approached him. "Neilson" Bradley said "Come on we need to talk" he said, Neilson stayed silent, staring into the refrigerator. 

Kyle, Harry and Adam silently moved closer, leaning against the kitchen counter, listening closely. 

"Will you just please let me explain" Bradley said. 

"Yeah I already heard it" Neilson said. He turned around to see Kyle, Harry and Adam listening intently, Bradley looked at him confused before turning around, he looked at them irritated. 

"You mind?" Bradley asked. 

"No go ahead" Adam said, munching on a piece of bacon as they stayed put. 

"Get out!" Bradley said to them, they quickly scurried to the living room. "Neilson I'm sorry, okay I am so so sorry about what happened last night." 

"Yeah you said that already" Neilson said flatly.

"Then why does it seem like you don't believe me?" Bradley asked. 

"My girlfriend just broke up with me and what? 2, 3 days later I find you guys in bed together? how would that look to you?" Neilson asked. “Oh, and don't forget this isn't technically the first-time you guys have screwed around behind my back...if it weren't for Mr. Winchester I never would’ve known that you made out with her and didn't bother to tell me about it." 

"Oh my god, you're really going to bring that up?" Bradley asked. 

"Yeah, I'm glad I got to walk in on this one though, it was great really" Neilson said. 

"I thought I was protecting you" Bradley said sadly. 

"Well great job" Neilson said.

"Neilson come on, you know that I would never want to hurt you...you're my best friend" Bradley said sadly, The refrigerator door then closed. 

"I don't know how you can stand there and still call yourself my best friend...as far as I'm concerned you don't even know the meaning of what being a best friend is you're too damn selfish to care about anyone else" Neilson said to him. “as much as I would love to stay and finish this conversation, I have to start getting some of my stuff together.” 

"What? Where are you going?" Bradley asked. 

“My mom’s…I’m going to stay with her for a while” Neilson said. 

Bradley scoffed “I can’t believe this, you’re just going to leave, just like that?” he asked. 

"What am I supposed to do? every time I look at you all I can think of is my girlfriend screaming your name and you two...I just…I have to go okay” Neilson said shoving the kitchen door open. 

Kyle, Harry and Adam groaned in pain as the door hit them. 

"Can't you people knock?!" Adam asked irritated. 

"You alright?" Kyle asked Bradley. 

“I don’t know anymore” Bradley mumbled before running upstairs. 

Kyle and Harry shared a look of worry and defeat. 

"God that really hurts" Adam said rubbing his nose, they looked at him "What?" he asked.

“We can fix this…right?” Harry asked Kyle. 

“Not for us to fix Harry, they need to figure it out themselves" Kyle said. 

“Oh sure, they have the combined IQ of a raisin but yeah this should be no problem” Adam said. 

"We have to do something, this tension's going to kill me!" Harry said to him. 

"You'll be fine Harry" Kyle said “We just have to stay out of it.” 

"No Harry's right we need to do something" Adam said.   
Kyle and Harry looked at him in surprise "What?" he asked. 

"Nothing...just never seen you like this before" Kyle said.

"Yeah it's like you care or something" Harry said to him “it’s very unsettling” Harry said, 

"The best thing we can do is nothing, it's between Bradley J. and Neilson, nothing to do with us, let them handle it" Kyle said. 

"God damn you and your rationality” Adam said irritated.


	3. Chapter 3

Brian sat in an over-sized leather office chair in their home studio, the mixing board and control panels in front of him, a paper pad sitting in his lap. He was fiddling with a pencil when Bradley came in looking forlorn. 

"Hey, you okay?" Bradley shook his head no "what's wrong?" he asked. 

"I uh… I did something really stupid anda I don't know if I can fix it" he said sadly, tears filling up in his eyes. "And I need to talk to someone" he said, his voice shrinking as the tears began to spill down his cheeks. He pulled him into a hug, Bradley glommed onto him and began to weep on his shoulder. 

Sasha sat behind her desk at her store "I believe my assistant faxed those forms to you this morning" she said on the phone, a clip board in front of her and a pen balanced between her fingers. "I'm still actually waiting on the fabric samples" she said, there was a knock at her office door, she put her hand over the receiving end of the phone. "Come in!" she said, Neilson came in with a bag slung over his shoulder, she smiled and waved him inside. "Okay great, yes we look forward to working with you, I know you'll help up get this new line just perfect, okay mhmm, bye" she said hanging up. 

"Hey" she said happily "What do I owe the pleasure?" she asked. 

"Mind if I stay with you for a while?" he asked. 

"Well of course not, something wrong?" she asked. 

"Can't I just spend some time with my mom?" he asked smiling. 

"Aww of course, you know I love spending time with you" she said kissing his forehead. "This is so sweet...too bad it's not the real reason why you're here" she said.

"Didn't buy it huh?" he asked. 

"Not a word...come on, what's the problem?" she asked. 

"Well if you must know I had quite an interesting night last night" he said. 

"Oh? Interesting how?" she asked. 

He smiled "I found Bradley in bed with Nat last night." 

She looked at him confusedly "Okay...say that one more time because I don't think I got that right" she said to him. 

"It's pretty simple I found my so called best friend Bradley J. screwing my ex-girlfriend Natalie last night" he said angrily. 

"Okay, start at the beginning" she said as they went into her office. 

Natalie sat in her kitchen, she kept looking at her phone, looking through her pictures of her with Bradley and Neilson. 

"Hey baby girl, I'm home" her mom, Jodi said as she wheeled a suitcase into the kitchen. Her face crumpled up in sadness and she ran to her mom, wrapping her arms around her. "Hey what happened?" Jodi asked concerned "What's wrong?" she asked. 

"I've messed everything up" Natalie cried. 

"Nat and I broke up...she said we'd been fighting a lot lately and she didn't want us to end up hating each other" Neilson said to Sasha. 

"Yeah I know, your dad told me" she said. 

"Neilson and I broke up" Natalie said tearfully to her mom. 

"Oh honey" Jodi said "I'm so sorry" she said setting a box of tissues on their kitchen table "What happened?" she asked. 

"We just kept fighting and fighting and nothing was making it better" she said in a congested voice, Jodi handed her a tissue. "I knew that if it kept up we were going to end up hating each other, I didn't want that to happen" she said. 

"So, you broke it off with him?" Jodi asked, Natalie nodded "Oh sweetie" Jodie said lifting her chin up "If you just call Neilson and explain I'm sure you'll be able to work it out" she said. "Now I've found the cure to any broken heart is lots and lots of chocolate" Jodi said "I'll make you some brownies" she said.

"Mom, even if I wanted to work things out with Neilson there's no way it's going to happen" Natalie said. 

"Why do you say that?" Jodi asked. 

"Because of Bradley" she said. 

"You have feelings for Bradley J.?" Jodi asked. 

"No... but I had sex with him" Natalie said "And Neilson saw the whole thing" she said sadly. 

"At first Bradley was doing everything to make sure I was alright, he stayed up with me at night, he brought me food, he let me literally cry on his shoulder and as soon as my back was turned he ended up in bed with Nat" Neilson said to Sasha. 

"Oh, my god..." Sasha said "Wh...how did this happen?" she asked. 

"That's what I'd like to know!" he said. 

"Neilson said he wanted to be alone, so I went out last night" Bradley said as Brian sat listening to him intently. 

"Last night I told Bradley I just wanted to be alone for a while, I went looking for him at Charlie's" Neilson said. 

"The bar?" Sasha asked "A bar you can't be in unless you're 21 or over?" she asked.

"Yeah whatever" Neilson said "Anyways Nat was there and the two of them got into it." 

"I went out last night and I found Natalie talking to some guy, a much older guy" Bradley said. "I was so angry; how could she be sitting there flirting with some guy when she had just broken Neilson's heart" he said. "I chased the guy away, we started fighting, I went to leave and she followed me out to the car, we were screaming at each other, I don't think I have ever been that angry in my life" he said. "And then...I don't know something happened...we kissed, it turned into this full blown make out session in the parking lot". 

"Charlie told me they started fighting and left, he told me he saw Nat get into Bradley's car so I went to her house" Neilson said to Sasha. 

"She got in my car and we went back to her house" Bradley said. 

Brian sighed "Bradley...did you have sex with Natalie?" he asked. 

Bradley nodded "Yeah I did" he said. 

"I went to Nat's house; the front door was open so I let myself in" Neilson said to Sasha I found their coats lying on the floor and I went up the stairs I could hear them in Nat's room and there they were the love of my life and my best friend going at it" he said. 

"And then Neilson walked in" Bradley said. 

"Oh no" Brian groaned. 

"Yeah, he was so angry, I tried to go after him to explain but I couldn't catch up with him" he said. "I got in my car and I just started driving, just anywhere he might be and I tracked him down to the park, he was sitting on a swing knocking back a bottle of whiskey...I tried to get him to listen to me, I told him it meant nothing and that I didn't mean for it to happen but he wasn't having any of it...I don't think I've ever seen him that angry before, he just kept screaming at me...and that's what happened" Bradley said sadly. 

"You had sex with Bradley" Jodi said, Natalie nodded "Wha...how...why? I mean don't get me wrong he's a really good looking kid but..." she asked.

"Mom it was a total spur of the moment thing, I went out last night, I ran into Bradley, we started fighting...next thing I know we're making out and then...it escalated" she said. 

Jodi sighed "You used protection, right?" she asked. 

"Yes of course" Natalie said "Mom...what do I do?" Natalie asked. 

"Where does Neilson fit in to all of this?" Jodi asked. 

"He walked in on us" Natalie said. 

"Oh my god" Jodi said. 

"I know, I know" Natalie groaned "It was as bad as you think" she said. 

"Oh honey...I don't...I'm so sorry" Sasha said to Neilson "Are you okay? Stupid question of course you're not" she said. 

Brian sighed deeply "Bradley J." he groaned. 

"Dad whatever you're going to say to me right now I haven't already said it myself" Bradley said.

"You used protection right, tell me you used protection" Brian said. 

Bradley rolled his eyes "Yes dad, I used protection, that's not the point here" he said. 

"It would be if you didn't" Brian said "I messed up, it was wrong, and I hurt Neilson and now he hates me, and I can't say I don't blame him" Bradley said.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you" Brian said. 

"How can you say that? You didn't see his face alright? that look of pure betrayal and heartbreak...and I did that to him" Bradley said. 

"Where is he?" Brian asked. 

"He went to stay with him mom for a while he said he can't stand being around me right now, I don't know what to do, I've tried to explain, I've tried to talk to him he won't listen to me" Bradley said. 

"You can stay with me if you need alright?" Sasha said "Have you talked to them at all?" she asked. 

"Same old excuses _'we didn't mean for it happen, it meant nothing', 'it was a mistake'_ " Neilson said. 

"You don't believe them?" she asked. 

"No, I don't" Neilson said to her. 

"What can I do?" Natalie asked Jodi. 

"Oh honey...as much as I would love to fix this for you I don't...I really don't know how, have you tried to talk to them?" she asked. 

"They won't talk to me" Natalie said. 

"I'm so sorry baby" Jodi said pulling her close and holding her. 

"Can you still make those brownies? I could really use 'em" Natalie said. 

"Course" Jodi said to her. 

Sasha pulled Neilson close, He rested his head against her cheek, she kissed his head, her arms wrapped tightly around him, Neilson took a gulp as a lone tear trailed down his cheek. 

"Just give him some space and some time to process everything" Brian said to Bradley "Everything's going to be okay" he said.

"What if it's not?" Bradley asked. 

Nick bounded down the stairs to the studio “Oh look who’s here” he said standing over Bradley “Casanova here telling you about his big score last night?” he asked. 

“Nick, come on” Brian said standing up and shielding Bradley behind him. 

“He tell you Neilson left?” Nick asked bitterly "What were you thinking?!" he asked angrily. 

"Hey! What are you doing?” Brian asked “Come on look at him, this is tearing him up, he knows he did wrong okay so just back the hell off him!” he yelled.

"Well good because he should! What were you thinking?" Nick asked. 

"Okay that is really not fair" Brian said. 

“No, what’s not fair is Neilson having to leave his home because yours can't keep it in his pants!" Nick said angrily.

"Hey, leave him alone alright" Brian said.

"Alright stop!" Bradley said standing up "You're right okay? I screwed up, I hurt Neilson and I drove him away” he said sadly. “This is all my fault, the last thing I ever want to do is hurt Neilson" he said "But it's done, it happened and as much as I want to take it back I can't, the only thing I can do now is try and make things right if that's even possible" Bradley said leaving.


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe this" Wendy said to Natalie the day at school, they stood in the girls' bathroom against the mirrors. "You and Bradley?" Wendy asked in a whisper "You had sex with Bradley?!" she asked in disbelief. 

"Yes! Okay can you please stop saying it?!" Natalie said. 

"Wow" Wendy said "So...is he...?" she asked. 

"He's...above average yeah" Natalie said. 

"Really?" Wendy asked pleasantly surprised "How was it?" she asked. 

Natalie looked at her in annoyance "Wendy, you are completely missing the point here" she said. "Oh my god it was amazing" Natalie said. 

"I knew it" Wendy said smiling "So between the two of them who's better?" she asked.

"Wendy! This is bad okay, I am having a real problem here!” Natalie said to her. 

"You're right, I'm so sorry...okay let's recap, you go out, you run into Bradley, the two of you get into this big fight, you at some point end up in bed together, Neilson walks in and sees the whole thing" Wendy said as Natalie nodded along. "Wow...it's like a Lifetime movie" she said. 

"I know" Natalie whined hiding her face into her hands "This isn't just about me, what about Bradley and Neilson? Their friendship is basically destroyed at this point...and I'm the one who did it" she said. 

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think" Wendy said.

~*~

Neilson opened his locker and stood in front of it switching books out. Bradley cautiously approached him.

"Hey" Bradley said leaning against the locker next to him, Neilson glared at him before turning back to his locker. 

"Can I help you?" he asked, Bradley closed his eyes and sighed. 

"Neilson come on we need to talk about this" Bradley said. 

"I don't want to talk about it okay? I especially don't want to talk about it with you" he closed the locker and walked away. 

"Neilson" Bradley said following him "You can't just keep shutting me out like this" he said. 

"Okay fine you want to talk, how's this? you're a selfish, inconsiderate son of a bitch who can't stand to see anyone else happy and has to have what everyone else does" Neilson said. "That good enough for you?" Neilson asked walking into a classroom, Natalie walked into the room and they looked at each other, Neilson then took his seat. 

"Hi" she said to him softly, sitting in the desk next to him. 

"Hello" he said, avoiding her face. 

"How are you?" she asked. 

"I've been better" he said. 

She nodded "Neilson...I don't even know what to say to you..." she said sadly. 

"There's nothing to say" he said. 

"Have you talked to Bradley at all?" she asked. 

"No, I'm not really interested in what he has to say either" Neilson said. 

"He's your best friend" she said sadly. 

"Yeah I thought so too" he said bitterly. 

"So that's it? You're just going to write him off?" she asked. 

"What do you care?" he asked her. 

"Okay everyone take your seats" their teacher said coming into the room. 

Bradley sat in his class jotting something down in his notebook.

~*~

A pair of elevator doors opened to Sasha, she stepped out on to the hospital floor, Vicki stood at the nurses’ station reviewing a patient’s file.

“Hey” Sasha said. 

“Oh hey!” Vicki said upon seeing her. 

“Welcome home” Sasha said as they hugged. 

“Thank you” Vicki said closing the file and handing it to the nurse. 

“How was the conference?” Sasha asked. 

“Oh my god it was the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life” Vicki said hastily pushing Sasha into her office “So boring, the most boring thing you can ever imagine” Vicki said as she shut the door. 

“So did you get a uh…welcome home present from Brian?” Sasha asked suggestively. 

“Oh I wish, no I didn’t get home until late last night and I had to be here early so…so what’s going on? This is a surprise” Vicki said. 

“Yeah, well I tried calling you” Sasha said. 

“Oh yeah my stupid phone died and my charger isn’t working, why?” Vicki asked.

“Well you better brace yourself because…a lot has happened and you’re not going to believe any of it” Sasha said. 

“This doesn’t sound good at all” Vicki said “Who are we talking about here?” she asked pulling a couple water bottles from a small refrigerator. 

“Your son, my son and that little tramp Natalie” Sasha said taking the water bottle from her. 

“What happened?” Vicki asked as they sat on a small couch. 

"Well for starters, Neilson and Nat broke up" Sasha said. 

"What?" Vicki asked. 

"Yeah" Sasha said. 

"Oh no" she said "What happened?" she asked. 

“The reason doesn’t matter because it’s as stupid as you would think” Sasha said. 

“Wow…well I’m sorry, I guess…but where does Bradley fit into this?” she asked. 

“I’m not a hundred percent on all the details yet, this is basically all just hearsay but Bradley went out one night, he ran into Natalie and they ended up fighting…I guess she was flirting with some other guy” Sasha said. 

“And knowing my son he probably confronted her in Neilson’s defense” Vicki said. 

“Yeah...anyways they started arguing and then something happened, it turned into this moment of passion, they kissed and they ended up going back to her house" Sasha said as Vicki sighed in frustration. 

"Bradley slept with Natalie" she said. 

"Yeah but it doesn't end there" Sasha said. 

"It gets worst?" Vicki asked. 

"Neilson walked in on them" Sasha said. 

"Oh my god" Vicki said. 

"Yeah apparently, he saw everything" Sasha said.

"Oh no" she groaned. 

"Well he stormed out, Bradley found him in the park, they had it out there and needless to say Neilson's not very happy right now" Sasha said. 

"Well I guess not, what is the appropriate reaction to finding your best friend in bed with the person you love?" she asked “Oh this is bad” Vicki said. 

“Yeah it is, Neilson’s actually staying with me right now so he doesn’t have to be around Bradley" she said "It's a mess" Sasha said. 

"Well it sure sounds like it" Vicki said “And I know my son, Neilson is the most important person in his life, Bradley is going to beat himself up about this and he's going to drown himself in guilt and regret” Vicki said.

“I’m coming to you as a friend and another mother, how do we get them through this?” Sasha asked. 

Vicki sighed "as much as I would love to make this all better for Bradley, there's nothing we can do" she said. 

"Yeah I figured as much" Sasha said "I guess they need to find a way to work this out themselves" she said. 

“This reminds me how much high school can suck” Vicki said. 

“Tell me about it” Sasha said “At least we had it easy…we got pregnant” Sasha said, Vicki nodded in agreement. 

“I just don’t get how Natalie could do this to them she's been around them long enough to know what their relationship means to them” Vicki said. 

“Ugh don’t even get me started on that girl, I could just strangle her” Sasha said angrily Sasha looked at her watch “I got to get back to the store.” 

“Okay, thank you so much for filling me in” Vicki said as they hugged. 

“Course, I wish it was better news” Sasha said. 

“Call me later okay, my phone should be fixed by then” Vicki said. 

“Will do, bye” Sasha said. 

“Bye” Vicki said as Sasha left her office. 

She picked up the picture of Bradley from her desk and looked at it sadly.


	5. Chapter 5

Bradley sat behind the counter of the record store, his notebook in his lap as he finished what he had written earlier.

Adam cautiously approached him "Hey" he said. 

"Hey" Bradley said to him. 

"How you doing?" Adam asked. 

"Trust me I've been better" Bradley said to him. 

"What's that?" Adam asked about Bradley’s writing. 

"Oh, nothing, just something that I started earlier" he said closing his notebook and throwing it on the sales counter. Bradley threw his head back, covering his face with his hands and let out a long aggravated, pained groan. 

"Very nice" Adam said nodding "You want to talk about anything?" he asked. 

Bradley looked at him confused "Why are you being weird?" he asked. 

"I'm just trying to be nice" Adam said. 

"Well knock it off you're freaking me out" Bradley said to him. 

"Why is everyone so surprised that I have the ability to be compassionate?" Adam asked. 

"Because you're _you_ " Bradley said to him. 

"Whoa hey you're mad at Neilson not me, remember?" Adam asked, Bradley looked at him offended "Sorry, that was low" Adam said. 

“Yeah just a tad” Bradley said to him “Besides, I’m not mad at Neilson…he’s mad at me” he said. 

“You try to talk to him at all?” Adam asked. 

“Yeah, at school…he basically told me to go to hell” Bradley said "As if this day couldn't possibly get any worst" he said when the bells above the door jingled and Natalie came in. 

"Hi" she said. 

"Spoke too soon on that one" Adam said. 

Bradley got off the stool and approached her "I’m working, what do you want?" he asked. 

“I want to talk about what happened” she said. 

“Yeah, well, I can’t, I’m busy…isn’t there another guy’s life you can go and obliterate?” Bradley asked. 

Adam chuckled softly “That was a burn” he said. 

“Can you please stop acting as if this whole thing is my fault?” Natalie asked “You weren’t exactly an unwilling participant you know” Bradley rolled his eyes “You kissed me first remember?” she asked. 

“Yeah well I didn’t force you to get into my car!” he said irritated “In fact, I’m the one who told you to stop!” he said.

“You told her to stop? What is wrong with you?” Adam asked, they turned to glare at him “Right, sorry” he said. 

“I didn’t drag you to my room kicking and screaming now did I?!” she asked. 

“Yeah and you know what, it wasn’t worth it” Bradley said to her. "It was the biggest mistake of my life" Bradley said to her “And now…my best friend hates me and everything is falling apart” he said sadly. 

“I’m sorry” Natalie said softly. 

“So am I” Bradley said. 

“Adam, I’m sorry but I got to get out of here” Bradley said quickly, rushing into the back room and grabbing his jacket and leaving through the back. 

"Not going to say anything?" Natalie asked Adam.

"What's to say?" Adam asked shrugging. 

"Well I know you've got some kind of comment or remark to make, so go ahead let's hear it" she said. 

"Okay, fine, I don't get you" he said to her. 

"That's it?" she asked. 

"You got your hooks into Neilson and then one day you decided 'I don't want him anymore I think I want Bradley J. now'" Adam said to her. "I don't know if you noticed or not but we're not interchangeable" he said. "So...who's next?" Adam asked "Hmm? there's Harry but he's way too sweet and sensible, I'd be a challenge but for some reason I think you would enjoy that" he said as tears welled up in her eyes."Oh and then there's Kyle, you'll probably have more luck with him..." 

"Adam!" Kyle yelled, they turned to see him standing in the back "What are you doing?" he asked. 

"Well look at that, you got yourself a third white knight" Adam said going up he steps to the second floor. 

"You okay?" Kyle asked. 

"You don't have to do that" she said. 

"Do what?" he asked. 

"Be nice to me, it's fine I was expecting that anyways" she said. 

"He didn't need to be harsh with you" Kyle said. 

"He wouldn't be Adam if he wasn't" she said "I should go" she said turning to leave.

"Want a ride?" he asked. 

"Sure you want to do that? I could lure you into a trap or something" she said "Thanks but, I can walk" she said. 

"Can I walk with you at least?" he asked. 

"Sure" she said. 

"After you" he said as they left the store.

~*~

 

"I'm sorry about Adam" Kyle said as they walked through the park. 

"Please stop apologizing, it's not like he's wrong." Natalie said to him. "Look um, I was going to stop by and try to talk to Neilson do you know if he's home or not?" she asked as they walked. 

"Uh yeah, he left" he said to her. 

"Left?" Natalie asked. 

"He's staying with his mom right now, says he can't be under the same roof as Bradley" she sighed. 

She took a seat on a bench "Everything is a mess and it's my fault and I have no idea how to fix any of it" she said as Kyle sat next to her "What do you think?" she asked. 

"I guess I just don't fully understand...I thought you loved Neilson?" Kyle asked.

"I did...I do" she said "I don't fully understand it myself" she said "before Neilson actually became my boyfriend he was one of my best friends" she said. "every little thing we did lately caused a huge argument and they were becoming worst and more frequent". "I could feel myself starting to hate him, I don't want that, because him not being my boyfriend is one thing but him not being my friend? I couldn't handle that" she said. "I am genuinely sorry that I hurt Neilson, I'm not trying to hurt him on purpose, and I do love him." 

"And Bradley?" Kyle asked. 

"I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about Bradley and I together before but it was just that, a fantasy" she said to him. "I never thought I would act on it and up until then I only thought of Bradley as one of my best friends...it was a mistake...I didn't want for it to happen but it did, and I can't take it back no matter how much I want to" she said. 

Kyle nodded "Look Nat, we didn't have a normal childhood, we don't have normal families" he said "I mean we could each have all the friends in the world but in the end we know that it would just be because of who our dads are". "the only ones we know that we can really trust are each other" he said to her. "Do Bradley J. and Neilson get on my nerves with their stupidity and their stupid jokes that are really only funny to them" Kyle said, Natalie laughed. 

"Hell yes, all the damn time" he said "but if I can be honest...something about their relationship...it's actually kind of sweet" he said. "And if you tell anyone I ever said that..." 

"I promise you no one will know" she said smiling.

"They would go to hell and back for each other and that's nice to have someone in your life like that, I wish I did" he said. 

"What about Harry and Adam?" she asked. 

"Well that's different, I mean Adam's...he's...he's Satan and Harry...he's just a pain in the ass" she laughed "But incase you're wondering I do kind of love them...I guess" she laughed. "Look, out of all of us I'm the oldest, it's my job to look after them...I mean my dad did it...which is probably why he left, they all drove him insane..." Kyle said. 

"But I don't know how to help them through this one" he said, she nodded. 

"Me either" she said sadly. 

"I guess all we can do is hope they can figure this out themselves" he said. 

"You think they will?" 

"If they care as much about each other as much as they say they do" Kyle said "Come on" he said as they stood up and continued their walk.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dad?" Bradley asked as he went into the home studio and found Nick sitting in front of the mixing board. "Oh, sorry I thought my dad was in here" he said turning to leave. 

"Bradley wait" Nick said. 

"so...let me guess, you hate me now too huh?" Bradley asked. 

"Do I hate what you did? Yeah, do I hate that Neilson was hurt? Oh yeah, do I hate that he left? Sure, but I don't hate you" Nick said. "I'm sorry I yelled at you I know you're having a hard time right now" he said sympathetically. 

"You don't have to apologize you were only trying to have your kid's back" Bradley said. 

"Still it wasn't right to jump all over you and I'm sorry" Nick said. 

"Thanks" Bradley said. 

"Look I know what Neilson means to you and how much you care about him and I don't believe you would ever intentionally hurt him" Nick said. 

"Mind telling him that?" Bradley asked. 

Nick patted his shoulder and left the room, Bradley sat down at the piano and put his fingers on the keys, spare notes filling the room. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of notebook paper and set it on the piano. He then began to play, a somber melody filling the room.

_What have I done?_  
I wish I could run,  
Away from this ship going under  
Just trying to help  
Hurt everyone else  
Now I feel the weight of the world is on my shoulders 

_What can you do when your good isn’t good enough_  
And all that you touch tumbles down?  
Cause my best intentions  
Keep making a mess of things,  
I just wanna fix it somehow  
But how many times will it take?  
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right, to get it right? 

He sang, the pain in his voice was strong, his agony, guilt and self hatred coming out in song.

_Can I start again, with my faith shaken?_  
Cause I can’t go back and undo this  
I just have to stay and face my mistakes,  
But if I get stronger and wiser, I’ll get through this 

_What can you do when your good isn’t good enough?_  
And all that you touch tumbles down?  
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,  
I just wanna fix it somehow  
But how many times will it take?  
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right? 

Brian could hear Bradley and wandered down to the studio, leaning against the door frame as he watched him at the piano singing, his voice sounding so much like his own yet somehow different.

_So I throw up my fist, throw a punch in the air,_  
And accept the truth that sometimes life isn’t fair!  
Yeah, I’ll send out a wish, yeah, I’ll send up a prayer  
And finally someone will see how much I care 

_What can you do when your good isn’t good enough?_  
And all that you touch tumbles down?  
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,  
I just wanna fix it somehow  
But how many times will it take?  
Oh, how many times will it take, to get it right?  
To get it right? 

"Wow" Brian said as the song ended, he came into view.

"You heard that huh?" Bradley asked clearing his throat. 

"Hard not to" Brian said "That was really good" he said sitting next to him on the piano bench. "You write this?" he asked looking at the sheet of paper. 

"Yeah I jotted something down" Bradley said. 

"Pretty good, looks like you're more like me than you thought" Brian said nudging him. 

"Wow thanks dad, kicking me while I'm down, that's great" Bradley said to him. 

“Sorry” Brian said. 

“It’s okay” Bradley said shrugging. 

“How you doing?” Brian asked.

“Well…I screwed my best friend’s girlfriend and now he hates me” Bradley said “And you know what? I kind of hate me too” he said sadly.

“Well you shouldn’t” Brian said “You’re being way too hard on yourself about this whole thing” he said. 

“Am I? How would you feel if you walked in on mom and Nick in bed together?” Bradley asked.

“Oh I’d kill him, no question” Brian said. 

“Always such a big help dad thank you” Bradley said. 

“Look your mom and I are going to watch a movie together, why don’t you come? Hang out with us for a bit?” Brian asked. 

“No thanks, the last thing I want to do is watch you defile my mother” Bradley said to him. 

“I’m not going to defile your mother” Brian said “Not with you there anyways” he said. 

“Why must you say things?” Bradley asked disgusted. 

“Sorry, besides it’ll do you some good to get out of the house for a while” Brian said. 

“No thanks” Bradley said “I just feel like wallowing right now” Bradley said sadly, he got up from the bench and walked out of the studio. Brian looked at him concerned as he walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

__

_You're bringin' on the heartbreak_  
Bringin' on the heartache   
You're bringin' on the heartbreak   
Bringin' on the heartache   
Can't you see? 

Music played loudly in the bar, Neilson sat at the bar, a bottle in his hand.

"Well well Neilson Carter" Charlie said seeing him. 

"Hey Charlie" he said solemnly. 

"Ooh, you're not looking so good there" Charlie said. 

"Thanks for noticing" Neilson said "The last few days have been nothing but pure hell" he said. 

"Yeah I've been there" Charlie said "So...what's got you diving into a bottle?" he asked when they heard the bells above the door jingle, they looked over to see Natalie standing there. 

"Guess that answers your question" Neilson said to him. 

"Well hello there dear" Charlie said to her. 

"Hi Charlie" she said. 

"Charlie, can I get another? and keep 'em coming" Neilson said to him. Charlie nodded and walked away "What are you doing here?" he asked keeping his back to her. 

"Well" she said hopping up into the stool next to him “You keep avoiding me at school" she said to him. 

"Yeah there's a reason for that" he said to her. 

"And then Kyle told me that you're staying with your mom so I went there to see you and she told me you went out...she's not too happy with me right now either" she said.

"Can't imagine why" Neilson said. 

"And since you and Bradley aren't speaking...I figured this is where you'd be" she said. 

"Well great you found me...you can go home now" he said.

"No, not until you talk to me" she said "Neilson, we used to be able to talk about anything" she said. 

"Okay fine, let's talk and maybe if we're lucky, we'll start fighting in the parking lot and end up making out" he said, she rolled her eyes "And then maybe after that we can go back to your house and have sex...that is how it happened right?" he asked "I'm still fuzzy on the details of the night you and Bradley decided to blow up my life" he said. 

“Oh my god, would you stop? It wasn't like that!" she said to him. 

"So tell me something, was he worth it?" he asked "No, really, I hope he was better than me, I hope he could do things better than I ever could" Neilson said.

"Wow...and here I was hoping we could have a conversation like mature human beings!" she said. angrily. 

"Nat I was standing right outside your room, I heard everything, you sounded like you were enjoying yourself" he said. 

“You want to do this? Fine let’s do it, yeah it was great, the sex was amazing, your best friend knows what he has and he knows how to use it” she said. "Is that better? is that what you want to hear?!" she asked "yeah I thought so" she said as he glared at her. "Neilson we didn't mean for it to happen it just did." 

"God I am so sick of hearing that!" Neilson said angrily. 

"Well what do you want me to do? I can't explain what happened okay!" she said "We were fighting, something changed I don't know what it was...heat of the moment? moment of passion type thing?" she said. 

"So that's your explanation, you can't explain it?" he asked. 

"As ridiculous and stupid as it sounds, yeah, that's it, we didn't mean for it happen, it just did" she said "Neilson, I don't know what's going to happen between us, obviously the damage to our relationship is irreparable...but your relationship with Bradley is still salvageable...don't waste it, forgive your best friend" she said as she hopped off the stool and left the bar. 

He sat there when he heard a familiar song begin to play in the bar. 

_"Sister Christian, Oh, the time has come, And you know that you're the only one, To say, okay, Where you going, What you looking for, You know those boys, Don't want to play no more with you, It's true"_

His bottom lip began to quiver, he picked up his phone, scrolling through his photos, coming to one he took while he and Bradley were up in the hills together not so long ago.

~*~

Bradley sat on his bed, old pictures scattered around him.

"Hey" Kyle said as he came into his room. 

"Hey" Bradley said to him. 

"Harry, Adam and I are going to Bill's for dinner, you want to come?" Kyle asked. 

"No, I'm not that hungry, thanks anyways" Bradley said. 

Kyle looked down on his bed at the pictures "You really need to stop torturing yourself" he said "You know Neilson he can't stay mad at you for much longer." 

"Yeah Kyle that's easy for you to say, you didn't see his face alright? I've seen Neilson pissed off before but this is different okay? he hates me...and you know one part of me understands completely, the other part of me wonders why he needs to be such a dick about this, he knows how sorry I am, he can see what this is doing to me" Bradley said to Kyle. 

"Kyle, dude, let's go, I'm starving" Adam said sticking his head into the room. 

"Sure you don't want to come?" Kyle asked. 

"No, I'm fine, I'd rather stay here and wallow some more" he said flopping over to his stomach and lying face down in his pillow. 

"We'll bring you something back" Kyle said. 

"Kay" Bradley said, his voice muffled by the pillow.

~*~

"Popcorn" Brian said bringing a bowl over to Vicki's couch, she filled two glasses with wine and grabbed the blanket from the back of her couch.

"So, how's Bradley doing?" she asked. 

"He wrote a song" he said. 

"Really" she said intrigued. 

"Got to hear him sing it" he said. 

"Wow" she said throwing the blanket over them. 

"Then I told him he was more like me than he thought and he got sad again" he said. 

Vicki sighed "I really wish there was something we could do for him" she said. 

"Yeah I know" Brian said as they snuggled up together "Nothing more you'd like to do for your kid then take their pain away but...Bradley's an adult now, he's got to learn how to deal with this stuff on his own" he said. 

"Yeah I know...I just wish Neilson wasn't so stubborn" she said grabbing the remote. 

"Course he is, he's a Carter...gets it from his dad" he said.

~*~

Sasha sat on her couch, smiling as she watched an old home movie on her TV.

“Hey mom” Neilson said coming in. 

“Oh hey, I’m glad you’re back, come watch this” she said, he sat next to her. 

“Is that me?” he asked. 

“Yes it is” Sasha said giggling. 

“Wow” he said “Never saw this before” he said. 

“Oh yeah I had them in the attic for forever” she said “Had to dig the VCR out too” she said. 

_“Neilson look at grandma!”_ Sasha said on camera. 

“Wow mom, look how young you are” Neilson said.

She looked at him “Excuse me?” she asked. 

“No I didn’t mean it like…I mean you were young…you were my age…I need to stop talking” he said turning back to the TV. 

“It’s okay I knew what you meant” she said smiling at him. 

_“Bradley, hi sweetie!”_ Neilson heard his grandmother’s voice say. 

“Bradley?” Neilson asked “That’s Bradley?” he asked. 

“Yeah that’s him alright” Sasha said “You guys were about 5-6 months old here” she said. 

_“Say hi!”_ Vicki said lifting his little arm and waving at the camera 

_“Here we are, a nice summer day at the park with the family, Neilson has just made a new friend”_ his grandmother said on the tape. 

_“Yes and they are having a ball”_ Sasha said on the tape as they watched them play together, giggling and smiling. 

“Okay, you made your point” Neilson said to her as she paused it. 

"Sweetie, I know you're hurting and I know you're angry..." 

"Angry? That's putting it lightly" he said to her. 

"I know you miss Bradley" she said. 

“How can you be so sure?” he asked. 

“Know what else I remember from this day?” she asked “It’s actually on here I can just show you…” 

“No…” he said. 

“I was still using the ancient carriage type stroller your grandmother used when I was a baby so we put you guys in there together for a nap…you were so cute,snuggling close to each other” she said. “So when it was time to take you home? You didn’t want to let go of him, you were hanging on to each other for dear life and when we finally did get you guys apart you started to cry” she said. 

“Yeah I was a baby, babies cry” Neilson said to her. 

“True but so did Bradley” she said. 

“Who was also a baby” Neilson asked “He still is a baby” he grumbled. 

“Neilson, he is your best friend, he always has been, ever since the day in the park when you two met as infants" she said. “You two care about each other, you love each other, you share a connection no one else has.” 

"Not anymore" he said sadly. 

“I don’t believe that…I don’t think you do either” she said when her phone rang “It’s the store I got to take this” she said “Calista, hey what’s going on?” she asked walking out of the room. 

He pressed the play button on the remote and began to watch the rest of the tape, watching himself and Bradley as infants underneath a mobile toy, laughing and playing together happily.

~*~

Kyle, Harry and Adam sat in a booth at Bill’s diner, they sat there in silence.

“So…” Harry said. 

“Yeah…” Kyle said as they sat there. 

“So, you just like wear that everywhere huh?” Adam asked about Kyle’s letterman’s jacket. 

Kyle looked himself over “Yeah…” he said “Why wouldn’t I?” 

Adam shrugged “Just sayin’…” he said as they once again became silent. 

A waitress then passed by their table and set a basket down in front of them. 

“Hey look rolls” Harry said “ One, two, three, four, five, five rolls” he said nodding.

“You know there’s a place down the street that has the best rolls” Kyle said to Harry. 

“Really” Harry said. 

“Yeah they’re all warm and…” 

“Alright!” Adam bellowed “My god this is painful” he said “Can we PLEASE just talk about what’s on our minds here? What are we going to do about Bradley and Neilson?!” Adam asked. 

“I told you guys there’s nothing we CAN do, we need to stay out of it” Kyle said to him “Look I know things are tough right now okay? But think about what this is doing to Bradley and Neilson I mean come on Neilson left! He’s staying with his mom, Bradley spends all his time in his room wallowing in guilt, Neilson spends lunch period in the art room and Bradley goes out to the bleachers to continue wallowing” Kyle said. “It sucks…” he said “Alright what do you guys want to do?” 

"I thought you said not to get involved?" Harry asked. 

"Well if they won't do it themselves we'll do it for them" Kyle said. 

"About damn time" Adam said. 

"So...any ideas?" Kyle asked as they sat there in silence, exchanging looks of confusion.

“I think I got something” Adam said. 

“And just to be clear we’re going to do this without violence or yelling” Kyle said to him. 

“Well then I got nothing” Adam said as they waitress put their food on their table. 

“Gentlemen, we’ve got a mission on our hands” Harry said. 

“We’re getting two people to talk to each other, we’re not going to war” Adam said. 

“Yes, but like war, this could get ugly” Kyle said. “Alright, lets get these morons to talk to each other, good luck everyone” Kyle said.


	8. Chapter 8

Neilson sat lazily on Sasha's couch, the remote in his hand when the doorbell then rang "I got it" Neilson said, he opened the door to see Kyle "Hey" he said. 

"Hey" Kyle said to him. 

"Oh, hi Kyle" Sasha said coming into the room. 

"Hey Sash" he said to her. 

"What's up?" Neilson asked. 

"Uh Adam's been trying to get a hold of you but you haven't been answering your phone or the texts he's been sending you" Kyle said. 

"I didn't get any texts from him" Neilson said. 

"Oh, well he wanted me to track you down" Kyle said.

"Oh, why?" Neilson asked. 

"He needs some help at the record store and he can't find Bradley." 

"Maybe he should check Nat's bed that's where I found him the last time I looked" Neilson said bitterly. 

Kyle rolled his eyes "Neilson" Sasha said. 

"Alright hold on, let me find my shoes" Neilson said. 

"So, how's it going over here?" Kyle asked. 

"It’s alright" Neilson said pulling his shoe on “How are things at home?” he asked. 

“Same, Adam’s still evil, Harry’s still a pain, Backstreet is still Backstreet” Kyle said. “Just go ahead and ask how Bradley is alright, I know you want to” Kyle said. 

“How is he?” Neilson asked reluctantly. 

“Miserable” Kyle said. 

Neilson nodded “…well you know what? It serves him right” Neilson said. 

"Do you plan on coming home any time soon?" Kyle asked. 

“Look Kyle I know what you’re trying to do and no offense but I just need some time right now, okay?” Neilson said.

“Okay, yeah” Kyle said “That’s fine…come on, we should go before…Adam sells your soul to Satan or something” Kyle said to him. 

“Bye mom” Neilson said kissing Sasha’s cheek. 

“Bye sweetie...this plan you guys have better work" she said to Kyle. 

“Guess we'll find out huh?" he said as they left her house. 

 

Bradley stood behind the sales desk at the store. 

"Hey...you okay?" Adam asked. 

Bradley turned to look at him "I guess" he said. 

"You know if you want to talk or anything...I'm here" Adam said. 

"Oh god, you're not going to be nice to me again are you?" Bradley asked.

"Would that be so bad?" Adam asked. 

"Yes! It's very unsettling!" Bradley said. 

"Okay fine in that case get your ass back in that stock room and help me with something" Adam said. 

"See? Now there's the Adam McLean we all know and tolerate" Bradley said "Alright what do you need help with?" he asked as Adam followed him to the stock room. 

"Mooney left me a note said there's some records up on the top shelf that need to be put out upstairs" Adam said. 

"Up here?" Bradley asked stepping up on a step ladder. 

"Yeah" Adam said. 

"I don't see anything" Bradley said. 

"Oh they're up there just keep looking" Adam said. He saw Kyle and Neilson approach the back door, quickly pulling the stock room door closed. 

"Hey, what's the emergency?" Neilson asked. 

"Uh I need some help with the stock room, Mooney says there's some records up on the top shelf that need to go out on the floor."

"Oh, okay" Neilson said going into the stock room. 

"Adam there's no records up here" Bradley said turning around and seeing Neilson. 

The door suddenly slammed shut and Adam locked it. 

"What the hell" Neilson said jingling the doorknob "Damn it Adam!" he yelled banging on the door. 

"This isn't funny, open the door!" Bradley yelled banging on the door. 

"Okay so here’s what's going to happen" Kyle said as they continued to bang on the door. "You guys are going to stay in there until you've worked out your differences because you know what? This whole thing has gone far enough" Kyle said. "You have us and your parents all running interference between the two of you, you're making life unbearable here for all of us" he said. “And if this what it takes to get you guys to realize how much you mean to each other, then so be it" Kyle said. “Now I know you’re probably angry now but don’t worry you’ll thank us in the long run” he said. 

"You know I'm actually kind of hungry" Adam said. 

"Me too, let's go grab Harry at the library and get something to eat" Kyle said "Have fun guys!" he said as they left the door. 

"Wait! No! Get back here!" Neilson yelled banging on the door. 

 

Bradley and Neilson sat in opposite corners in complete silence, shooting each other heated glares, the air thick with tension. 

"So…I guess we should talk huh?" Bradley asked. 

Neilson scoffed "You can go ahead and talk all you want, it doesn't mean I actually have to listen to you" he said to him. 

"You are just so intent on hating me aren't you?" Bradley asked him "How many times do you need me to say it? I've told you repeatedly that I am sorry, what do you want me to do?!" Bradley asked."It just happened alright? it was a mistake, I made a mistake okay, I’m sorry!” 

"Oh my god Bradley, it doesn't matter what you say or how many times you say it okay?" Neilson said angrily. 

"God Neilson will you please stop shutting me out? I can't stand you hating me!" Bradley said to him. 

"Yeah well who's fault is that? I caught you in bed with my girlfriend! And you know what's interesting? You guys had sex yet somehow I'm the one who got screwed!" Neilson said to him. 

"This hasn't been easy for me either you know!" Bradley said “I’ve been miserable and wallowing in guilt and self loathing for days now.” 

“Oh what you expect me to feel sorry for you?” Neilson asked. 

“You know contrary to what you may think of me right now, I don’t enjoy causing you pain okay?” Bradley said.   
“I hate that I hurt you this much and if you really think that I don’t then you really don’t know me as well as I thought you did." 

"Obviously I don’t, I didn't think you were capable of sleeping with Nat but I was wrong about that wasn't I?" Neilson asked. 

"Oh my god" Bradley groaned. 

"So please , tell me, how was it?" Neilson asked. 

"Oh would you stop" Bradley said irritated. 

"No really I want to know, I only caught the last act but from what I heard it sounds like you were able to get her off which trust me, is pretty easy" Neilson said.

"Maybe not for you..." Bradley said. 

Neilson looked at him in disbelief "You son of a bitch" he said tackling Bradley to the floor. 

"Yeah go ahead" Bradley said to him "Kick my ass it won't change anything" Bradley said pushing Neilson off him. 

"You blew me off alright!" Neilson said. 

“Excuse me?!” Bradley asked “I’ve been trying like hell to get to you talk me for days now! I’ve done just about everything but get on my hands and knees and beg for forgiveness!” Bradley said. 

"I mean when you decided that one night with Nat was more important to you than me!" Neilson said.

"That's not true, nothing is more important to me than you are, you know that" Bradley said. “I took a bullet for you, Neilson!” Bradley yelled at Neilson “I risked my life to save yours!” he said angrily. 

“Oh my god, I cannot believe you’re bringing that up!” Neilson said. 

“I let Mr. Winchester torture me to keep you safe, every time I would open my mouth he would threaten to kill you, and what about on Halloween?” Bradley asked. 

“Oh you mean when I stupidly offered up myself as a sacrifice, to save your sorry ass? And Nat’s?! and this is how you guys repay me?!” Neilson asked. 

“Wow, way to revise history, are you forgetting what happened after that? I told him that if he wanted to kill you, he was going to have to kill me first!” Bradley said “And he almost did, I almost got my throat slit open and was almost strangled to death just to save you and why? Because you’re my best friend and I would rather die before I let anything bad happen to you” Bradley said. 

“Oh okay and where does sleeping with my girlfriend fit into that?” Neilson asked. 

"You asked me to give you space remember? When you went off on me for no god damn reason!” Bradley said to him. 

“So I was right, you did do this to get back at me!” Neilson said. 

“No!” Bradley said before groaning in aggravation. 

"During any part of that night did you ever stop to think _'Hey this is wrong'_?" he asked. "Did you think about me at all? Did you at least say to yourself _'this will really hurt Neilson'_? No you weren't you were just focused on getting what you wanted and screwing me over in the process!" Neilson said to him. "You may have not planned on sleeping with Nat but it sure as hell didn't stop you from doing it anyway!" Neilson said. 

"I know, okay? I know! Sleeping with Nat is something that I have to live with" Bradley said, Neilson kept his back towards him. "Now if you want to wallow in your self pity and anger that's fine but you need to decide what is more important to you, your hurt pride or me?" Bradley asked. "I will spend the rest of my life trying to make this up to you, but for that to happen, you have to be there" Bradley said sadly. "And I hope you will be because...I can't imagine life without my best friend" Bradley said sitting back down on a stack of boxes and turning his back to Neilson.

"Bradley" Neilson said. 

"Just leave me alone alright, you don't want to talk to me that's fine, I don't want to talk to you either" Bradley said. 

Neilson sighed "Look I don't hate you, okay?" Neilson said "I could never hate you...I just hate what you did" he said sitting on a box next to him. 

“Look you may not believe this but I probably hate what I did more than you do, the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt you” Bradley said “And if you can’t trust me anymore, I’ll understand” he said. 

“No I believe you…we’ll probably have to work on the trust thing though” Neilson said as they smiled at each other. 

"I'm really sorry" Bradley said. 

“I know” Neilson said. 

“So can this just be over now?” Bradley asked “I miss my best friend” Bradley said. 

“I miss my best friend too” Neilson said "Come here" pulling Bradley close and hugging him, squeezing him tightly.


	9. Chapter 9

The next afternoon, Kyle and Adam stood in the record store’s storage room, Kyle handing Adam heavy boxes to put on the top shelf. 

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this but, Kyle, you’re a genius” Adam said as Kyle handed him another box. 

“I told you it would work” Kyle said. 

“It is amazing that something so simple had such an amazing effect” Harry said to them. 

“Yeah well Bradley and Neilson are simple people” Kyle said. 

“Hey guys” Bradley said “We’re standing right here” he said. 

“See? Now doesn’t it feel better to be talking again?”   
Kyle asked coming between them and putting his arms around them. 

“Yeah it does” Bradley said smiling at Neilson, Neilson wrapped his arm around Bradley’s shoulders and squeezed him. 

“You just gotta remember, bros before hoes” Adam said. 

“That is true” Neilson said. 

“So? Can we get a thank you here?” Kyle asked. 

They looked at each other “Thanks” Neilson said. 

“Yeah thanks guys” Bradley said “We also want to say something else” he said. 

“Payback’s a bitch” Neilson said as he and Bradley dodged out of the room and slammed the door shut, locking it. 

“They didn’t” Kyle said. 

“No” Adam said jiggling the knob “Damn it! Let us out!” he said banging on the door. 

“Now I know you guys are mad now, but you’ll thank us in the long run” Bradley said as he and Neilson laughed, standing on the other side of the door. 

“You sons of bitches open the door!” Kyle growled pounding on the door, they continued laughing. 

The bells above the door jingled “Can I help…you” Neilson said going into the store front and seeing Natalie. 

“Hi” she said. 

“Hi” he said “What’s up?” he asked. 

“Just wanted to see how you were doing” she said “Your mom said you moved back home” she said. 

“Oh yeah…I’m doing better” he said. 

“Dude, I think Harry’s starting to hyperventilate it’s hilarious” Bradley said coming into the storefront “Oh…hey” he said to Nat.

“Hey, Bradley” she said surprised "So I take it you guys are okay now?" she asked. 

“Yeah, we talked everything out and I think we're going to be okay" Neilson said. 

"Well good...I'm happy for you guys” she said, she heard the loud pounding from the back “What’s going on back there?” she asked. 

“Oh, we locked Kyle, Harry and Adam in the stock room” he said. 

"Oh…why?” she asked. 

“Hilarity” he said shrugging.

“Oh, okay well I’m going to take off, I’ll see you around?” she said. 

“Okay…hey Nat?” he asked. 

“Yeah?” she asked. 

“Uh we were wondering if you could settle something for us?” he asked, Bradley coming to his side. 

"Okay…what?" she asked. 

"Who was better?" Bradley asked. 

"Excuse me?" she asked. 

"Yeah who was better? Me or him?" Neilson asked her. 

"Are you kidding me right now?" she asked irritated. 

"Come on between the two of us who was better?" Bradley asked her. 

"I'm not answering that question" she said. 

"Oh come on!" Bradley said. 

"Soon as you tell us, that will be the end of it" Neilson said to her. 

"...I don't want to say" she said nervously “I will say however that...not one of you was better or worst than the other" she said "...except maybe Bradley was a little bit better" she said. 

"Yes!" Bradley said. 

"Okay fine, he was better...but who's bigger?" Neilson asked. 

"Right now I can't believe I slept with either one of you!" she said irritated as she left. 

"Does that mean I win?" Neilson asked. 

"Yeah you can have that one" Bradley said to him. 

"So...you think you guys will ever be okay?" Bradley asked. 

"I hope so" Neilson said to him, looking at the door "Because even after everything that's happened, I still love her" he said "Hey, I still got you right?" he asked Bradley. 

"Always" Bradley said to him, they bumped their fists together. 

“ **BRADLEY JASON NICKOLAS LITTRELL**!!” Kyle yelled from the stock room, the pounding getting louder. 

“ **NEILSON FREDERICK CARTER**!!” Adam then yelled. 

Neilson wrapped his arm around Bradley’s shoulders, Bradley snaked his around Neilson’s waist as they walked to the back of the store together. 

"See you guys later!" Bradley yelled as he and Neilson left the store.

"Wait, no! You idiots get back here now!" Adam yelled "Well great job Kyle!" he said irritated.

"Oh shut up Adam!" Kyle yelled at him.

"So...you guys want to talk about anything?" Harry asked.

"Shut up Harry!" Kyle and Adam both yelled at him.


End file.
